Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour fined $25,000 by NHL for inappropriate game conduct
Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour has been fined $25,000 for inappropriate conduct during Sunday’s game against the Washington Capitals at PNC Arena, the NHL announced Tuesday.
Brind’Amour was livid late in the game after a slashing call against Canes center Sebastian Aho. Following a holding penalty against the Canes’ Seth Jarvis, the slashing call gave the Caps 90 seconds of a 5-on-3 advantage and had Brind’Amour yelling at the referees.
Washington did not score with the two-man advantage but moments later Dmitry Orlov’s power-play goal gave the Caps a 3-2 lead. Washington won 4-2 to move into solo first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Aho’s slashing call was made after he broke the stick of the Caps’ Aliaksei Protas along the boards near the Carolina bench. The Caps’ Alex Ovechkin quickly raised an arm, as if asking for a call, before the referee had raised his arm to signal the penalty.
Brind’Amour was calm during his postgame comments, saying the Aho penalty was a correct call and adding, “It’s a tough way to end a game. ... It’s unfortunate. What are you going to do? ... It was a great game and it ends like that. They kind of took it out of our hands, but it is what it is.”
Brind’Amour said Tuesday night that he was “shocked” to be fined.
“What are you going to do? You know I can’t say anything now,” Brind’Amour said after the Canes’ 4-1 loss to Dallas. “I took the job thinking you could be yourself, thinking you could tell you guys what I really feel in a game or about a game, and now you clearly can’t. So, there you go.”
The NHL sent out a memo in October to the league’s coaches and general managers saying inappropriate conduct on the bench or critical comments made to the media about the referees or calls would result in an automatic fine of not less than $25,000.
Canes captain Jordan Staal did not comment on the fine but said he admires and appreciates the fire and passion of his head coach.
“It’s an emotional game and obviously Roddy is one of those guys who wants it more than anything,” Staal said. “Sometimes, your emotions get the best of you. It’s hard for him standing behind the bench. I’m sure he’d like to be out there on the ice. It’s one thing he can do to get involved and obviously according to the NHL he crossed the line. But it’s our job to not think about the refs and go out and play.”
Brind’Amour was fined $25,000 in August 2020 for criticizing the officiating during a double-overtime loss to the Boston Bruins in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
The fine money is turned over to the NHL Foundation.
This story was originally published November 30, 2021 at 5:26 PM.
